International financial institutions (ifis) avoid investing in troubled states. It just doesn't make good business sense. Then why do ifis such as the Asian Development Bank (adb) and the World Bank feel attracted to India's northeast? Does the vacuum of governance in some of these states suit the ifis or is there another explanation?

Recently, the World Bank held a meeting in Delhi to discuss the natural resources of the eight northeastern states and how to harness them. Earlier, in 2003, adb committed Rs 1,000 crore as lending in the region over the next decade